A story in today's Star Tribune shows that half of Minnesotans are feeling worse off since the recession began, according to a Star Tribune Minnesota poll.

The numbers aren't pretty: nearly one in five said they were laid off during the recession, and more than a third reported having their pay or benefits cut.

But Minnesotans still have more confidence in the economy than most.

Minnesota ranked second-highest among states' confidence in the U.S. economy, according to a Gallup index of its daily tracking polls. Minnesota trailed only Iowa and the District of Columbia in economic optimism.

Granted, being second best doesn't translate into a positive outlook: Minnesota has a -14 confidence ranking on a scale of -100 to 100. Even D.C., which has a higher confidence level than any state, comes in at -1.

Minnesota's economic confidence is still significantly greater than the index's bottom-feeders, topped by West Virginia at -46, Idaho at -41, and Wyoming at -37.

It would seem that one way to explain Minnesota's confidence level is that the state's unemployment rate of 6.8 percent is lower than the national average of 9.6 percent. But all three states with the lowest confidence levels also have unemployment rates under the national average.